PLS (file format)

Playlist
Filename extension	.pls
Internet media type	audio/x-scpls
Type of format	Playlist

PLS is a computer file format that stores multimedia playlists. It is a more expressive format than basic M3U, as it can store (cache) information on the song title and length — extended M3U supports this, too. However, M3U playlists, because of their simplicity, can be easily created with a scripting language such as AppleScript or JavaScript, or even by hand. With PLS version 2, playlists also include a PLS version declaration.

Microsoft Windows and its software does not automatically detect PLS format and cannot run it. iTunes, Winamp, VLC media player and Foobar play PLS files without any extra codecs required. Windows Media Player classic with K-Lite codec installed does work with PLS format but still will not automatically detect it.

According to this newsgroup-post, M3U is more supported than PLS. One of the reasons is that the opportunity to edit the playlist as a text-file is easier than with PLS, as in PLS you have to count the entries and number all the lines and update the total count. M3U entries are unnumbered, but on the other hand the PLS code and structure is easier to understand even for people without specific technical knowledge.

Specification

The format is essentially that of an INI file structured as follows:

Header

[playlist] : This tag indicates that it is a Playlist File
NumberOfEntries : This variable indicates the number of tracks

Track Entry
Assuming track entry #X

FileX : Variable defining location of stream.
TitleX : Defines track title.
LengthX : Length in seconds of track. Value of -1 indicates indefinite.

Footer

Version : Playlist version. Currently only a value of 2 is valid.

Example

[playlist]
NumberOfEntries=3

File1=http://streamexample.com:80
Title1=My Favorite Online Radio
Length1=-1

File2=http://example.com/song.mp3
Title2=Remote MP3
Length2=286

File3=/home/myaccount/album.flac
Title3=Local album
Length3=3487

Version=2

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